


Canine Cupid

by itsallAvengers



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Dogs, Flirting, M/M, Meet-Cute, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-25 23:24:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18711796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsallAvengers/pseuds/itsallAvengers
Summary: Bucky meets Tony at the park on a Monday Morning.This is because his dog has just knocked Tony flat on his back and Bucky has a brief moment to wonder whether his pet just gave a man irreversible brain damage.(He hasn't. But hehaslanded his owner a cool new date)





	Canine Cupid

**Author's Note:**

> commission for anonymous, who wanted some cute winteriron + dogs! I hope this is what you were after!

If asked, Tony would probably say that it was entirely Gandalf’s fault, which  _wasn’t_  true. A good 10% of the blame went on Tony and Bucky would stand by that statistic until the day he died, thank you very much.

But… you know. The other 95% was definitely split between Bucky and Gandalf.

Gandalf was a big dog, you see. He was large and he was energetic and ever since he was a puppy he had  _always_  had a terrible sense of spatial awareness. This wasn’t even the first time it’d happened whilst Bucky had been taking him on a walk, although it was probably the worst accident to date.

He’d been throwing the ball on the grass, letting Gandalf race energetically to leap and catch it before bringing it back. He did this every morning, nothing unusual about that, and Gandalf never seemed to get bored of catching tennis balls with wild abandon, often banging into trashcans and trees in his haste to retrieve it as fast as possible, because, as Bucky had said,  _terrible_  sense of awareness. For a breed like a Husky, which was supposedly intelligent, Gandalf sure as hell didn’t seem to have a lot of sense (not that Bucky could say he would change that about him in a million years, of course).

Anyway. Like Bucky had been explaining, he’d just been tossing the ball for him, exactly the same way he always did, and Gandalf had been racing after it, leaping to catch it and then waggling his tail excitedly while he brought it back. It had all been fine.

Except Gandalf missed the ball. It didn’t make it into his mouth and instead went over his head, bouncing off the grass and onto the pathway through the park. Gandalf twisted in midair, eyes locking onto the offending ball, determined not to let it out of his grasp for a second time. And of course, right when Gandalf set off and made to pounce?

Someone decided to walk around the corner, ambling easily as they texted on their phone, oblivious to the world and also to the big white Siberian Husky that was leaping through the air trying to catch his target.

Bucky watched from a couple of yards away, somewhat resigned to the immediate disaster that he knew was going to happen. He lurched forward and called out Gandalf’s name sharply, but only managed to break out the first syllable before—

_“SONOFABITCH!”_

The poor man was very suddenly overwhelmed with roughly fifty-pounds of rapidly moving Husky careening into his legs, and Bucky gasped in horror as the guy clattered roughly to the rough concrete floor, Gandalf sprawling on top of him as the dog also stumbled, surprised by the malleability of what he’d hurtled into. Usually they were things like trees, with somewhat less of a give.

“Oh My God,” Bucky muttered, starting up on a sprint, “oh my  _GOD_ , Gandalf, you  _DUMBASS_!”

Gandalf got quickly back to his paws and trotted over to Bucky, the ball clutched happily in his mouth, completely oblivious to the chaos he’d just caused to this man’s 9am walk. Bucky ignored him in favour of rushing over to the stranger, still laid flat-out on his back and gazing somewhat dazedly at the sky. He had a look of surprise on his face. “Ow.”

Bucky reached him a second or so later, dropping hurriedly into a crouch and leaning over him. “Are you okay?” He asked hurriedly, eyes wide and mortified and oh God, what if this guy was hurt? Bucky would have to pay any medical bills, and he couldn’t even afford to pay his  _own_  medical bills, Christ, Gandalf was the  _worst_ \- “Are you hurt? Did you hit your head? I am so so sorry, my dog is a fucking idiot, holy shit—”

“I’m alright,” the man breathed out sharply and focused on Bucky before blinking rapidly. “Whoah,  _hello_  there, handsome. This morning is getting more and more interesting by the minute.” He sat up a little, rubbing at his neck and then turning around while Bucky simply stared at him, completely unsure of where to go next. “Hey, where’d my dog go? Black poodle, tiny, yaps like a complete asshole? I lost sight of him while I was getting run over.”

Bucky spluttered, looking around the grass helplessly. He spotted Gandalf a few meters away, minding his own business as he sniffed around, but then he shifted a little and Bucky saw that Gandalf wasn’t just sniffing daisies. Oh no—seemingly not content with bowling the man over, it now appeared Gandalf had his nose rather far up the ass of the dog that belonged to him. “Uhh,” Bucky started in mortification, whistling sharply and harshly, “Gandalf, stop it! Stop… Oh Jesus, uh, he’s. He’s over there,” Bucky waved helplessly and cursed Gandalf’s name as he did it. When this was over, Steve was getting full custody. Bucky could not deal with this shit on a Monday morning.

Gandalf, after a few seconds’ worth of extra sniffing, eventually followed Bucky’s command and scurried back over, his tongue lolling out happily. Bucky turned back to the man who was now sat up on the floor, feeling his cheeks burning. “I am so sorry,” he blurted, “Gandalf’s an idiot and he runs constantly into walls, he’s not a bad dog though, honestly—”

“You called your dog Gandalf,” the man declared half-way through, and Bucky stopped.

“Yeah,” he said, “it’s… he’s got a kind of doggy beard, sort of. It’s… it’s a thing.”

The man blinked once at him. Then he turned to the black poodle, now also making its way over to them both with a couple of high-pitched yaps. “I mostly just call my dog Asshole,” he said, “but I can see how yours would be a Gandalf. Also, for some reason, the fact that you care enough about Lord of the Rings to name your dog after a character makes me even more attracted to you than I already was when I saw you.”

Bucky just stared at him, waiting for the punchline. The man was still sat on the concrete, Bucky on his haunches next to him. He realised how weird this must look to the passers-by. “Did you hit your head?” He asked again, wondering if Gandalf had actually given this dude a concussion.

But a shake of his head told Bucky otherwise. “Nope, I’m just like this. Ask Rhodey.” Pushing his curly hair out of his face, he got back to his feet and dusted himself off. As he did so, Bucky took the opportunity to give him a once over. The coat alone looked like it cost more than Bucky’s rent that month, which wasn’t exactly comforting. But his face was kind. Soft around the eyes. And  he was very, very pretty. Bucky didn’t fail to notice that.

“I’m Tony,” the guy said, sticking out a hand, “does your dog usually do that? Because I just moved here, and I’d like to know whether I need to design some body armour for when I’m out walking Professor Poodles over there in future.”

Bucky shook his head and absently brushed a leaf off Tony’s shoulder. “No, God no, I swear he’s just… he’s just dumb as a brick, look—Hey Gandalf, c’mere you big lug, come on.” He clicked his fingers and waited for Gandalf to trot over, his snout pushing into Bucky’s outstretched palm. “I promise, he’s a sweetheart,” Bucky explained emphatically.

Tony glanced down at him, then extended a few wary fingers. Gandalf sniffed them curiously before his tail began to wag like a windmill and he took a big lick. Tony giggled. It was… it was cute. “Okay, yeah, I believe you,” Tony admitted with a nod, “I forgive him for his earlier crimes. Although I’m not sure my back does. Big guy really floored me there.”

“I’m so sorry,”  Bucky said, biting his lip as he looked down at Gandalf, now once more taking interest in Tony’s own dog as they sniffed one another’s genitals, as dogs tended to do upon first meeting, “is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”

Tony eyed him for a moment, before his mouth quirked up in a smile. “Buy me a coffee,” he declared simply, shrugging his shoulders and then looking up at Bucky pointedly through his very long, dark eyelashes. “And then maybe dinner, depending on how said coffee goes.”

Oh. Okay.

Well that sure was… something.

Bucky blinked a few times, trying to process the last few minutes. Gandalf had just felled this man where he stood, knocking him flat out on the concrete. Why had that resulted in said man asking for a date? Tony should be giving him an earful about learning to control his dog, not…

“I’ll give you a couple minutes to think it over,” Tony said cheerily, before whistling behind him, “Poodle-Boy, come on! We’re walking this way now!” The little black poodle perked up at the noise, and then scampered over a second or so later, running between Bucky and Tony’s legs and then scampering off into some bushes to pee. Sensing Tony wanted to walk with him now, Bucky moved forward and then turned to look at Tony. “What’s his actual name?” He asked, nodding over to Tony’s dog.

Tony shrugged. “He doesn’t really have one. I know,” he raised an eyebrow at Bucky’s incredulous face, “it drives Pepper up the wall too. I mostly just call him ‘baby’ or ‘cretin’. But now I’m kinda mad I didn’t, because Gandalf is a fucking awesome name for a dog.”

Bucky chuckled, his shoulder brushing with Tony’s as they walked down the path. He was still half expecting Tony to start shouting at him any moment, to be honest. It seemed a little anticlimactic, all things considered. Tony had fallen with some rather spectacular pizzazz, and Bucky had honestly though he might have killed the man in the first moment or two.

Except now the very same man was chatting away amicably to him, using his very attractive mouth and very attractive hands and wow, okay,  _how had any of this even happened?_

(‘Gandalf was our cupid,’ Tony says later, his voice dreamy as he drapes himself over Bucky’s lap, and Bucky just rolls his eyes and tells him ‘Gandalf was nearly your very expensive medical bill that I would’ve had to pay, actually, please don’t encourage him’ and then kisses him over his morning coffee.)

They ended up taking another circuit of the park together, walking side by side while their dogs both played with one another and frolicked around with a care in the world. Tony was rubbing his elbow occasionally and Bucky resisted the urge to take hold of it and check it over. He was still a relative stranger and he didn’t want to be too pushy. But Tony seemed… relaxed. In fact, he seemed a little more than relaxed. It was like he’d already known Bucky for months before this. Better still, Bucky felt kind of the same. Tony was very easy to talk to. And there was something about the way he smiled that just made Bucky go all soft in the stomach.

“You still want me to make it up to you?” Bucky asked when they both reached the park gates twenty minutes later, raising an eyebrow somewhat nervously as Tony stopped beside him. He became rather acutely aware of the fact he hadn’t washed his hair in a good few days now, and it was hanging a little stringily down his shoulders. He resisted the urge to fiddle with it. That’d only draw attention.

Tony smiled as he leashed his poodle back up to walk him on the road. “You bet your pretty ass I do,” he agreed heartily, “once I’ve got that date, any leverage I have over you and your bulldozer of a dog is automatically nulled. Where d’you wanna meet?”

Bucky gave him the name of his favourite coffee place just down the road from where he lived, and Tony agreed enthusiastically. “I’ll be there at 2,” he called out, “and hey, you know—I think I actually did hit my head.” Bucky’s smile fell and he stepped forward in concern, but Tony just shrugged, tapping his forehead. “You may just have to kiss it better.”

Despite knowing him for all of half an hour, Bucky felt like that was very typical of the man. He rolled his eyes. “I don’t kiss strangers,” he said.

“We’re totally not strangers. You know my name. I know yours. I got uncomfortably familiar with your dog.” Tony wiggled his eyebrows and then winked, but then stepped back to turn away. Until Bucky grabbed his arm gently, and then pressed a very small kiss to the top of Tony’s forehead. When he pulled back a little, it seemed Tony was surprised Bucky had taken him up on it. He was just about to apologise for being too forward when suddenly Tony laughed, and the twinkle in his eye set Bucky’s heart at rest. “Oh, Mr Barnes,” Tony said in delight, “I am going to have  _so much fun_  with you.”

With that, he walked off, Bucky’s number safely in his phone and his dog yapping playfully by his feet. Bucky’s gaze fell on the man’s ass as he walked, and couldn’t help but feel as if Tony was exaggerating the sway of his hips a little, just for him.

Gandalf tugged at his own leash in an attempt to follow them. Bucky just looked down at the menace with a sigh and a shake of his head. “Look at what you gotten me into now,” he muttered fondly, scratching those soft ears a couple of times. “Come on, trouble. Steve’s gonna  _love_  hearing this story.”


End file.
